Rail anchor



Dec: 32,, 1950 J, HYLE 2,533,375

RAIL ANCHOR Filed May a, 1949 F 7 I i 2 JNVENTOR. dacos 47. A4 45Patented Dec. 12, 1950 tllED STATES ATENT OFFICE RAIL ANCHOR deceasedApplication May 3-; 1949, Serial No; 91,169

6 Claims.

The present invention consists in a new and improved rail anchor whichmay readily be mounted on the base flange of a railway rail, and asreadily dismounted therefrom, and which will positively preventlongitudinal shifting of the rail induced by the wheels of traffictraveling along the rail.

In the use of rail anchors it is important toprovide means whereby theanchor may be maintained in contact with the side surface of thecrosstie to prevent the rail and the anchor from shifting in unison, itis equally important that the anchor be prevented from contact withthetie plate, which in standard practice is interposed between the baseflange of the rail and the tie. Such contact would result in looseningthe spikes which fasten the rail and tie plate to thetie, thuspermitting moistureto enter the spike holes and rot the wood of the tie,as the creosote treatment to which the ties are subjected does notimpregnate the wood for more than half an inch.

My improved rail anchor is formed by a dieing and bending operation froma single length of steel bar which is preferably provided with a central longitudinal groove rolled in itstop surface.

In the dieing operation the intermediate portion of the steel bar ispunched downwardly through its thickness, thus spreading the steellaterally and forming a pair of twin vertical walls which aresubstantially parallel and are spaced apart a distance slightly greaterthan the original th opening between the vertical walls and is of alength to extend along the lower loop or portion of the S-spring laterto be describe'cll In the bending operation the shorter end po'r'- tionof the bar is bent first in an upward slant extending above theplaneofthe top edges of the vertical walls and then horizontallyoutwardly toprovide a flat surface which, when theanch'o'r' is" in operativeposition on the rail, mates in surface contact with the flatunder'surface of'the base flange of the rail. The adjacentextremityofthe bar is bent upwardly to provide" an upstandingjaw havinga vertical inner facewhichgripsthe' 2 adjacent perimetral edges of thebase flange of the rail. V I

The opposite and longer end portion of the bar is bent curvilinearl'yfirst downwardly, then inwardly between the twin vertical walls, thenupwardly to a level above the top edges of the walls, then outwardly,and finally inwardly to complete an S-shape'd spring, the upper endportion or loop of the spring forming what may be termed a G- shapedjawwhich receives and grips the adjacent portionof the base flange ofthe rail.

The narrow slot made in the; longer end portion of the bar in the dieingoperation facilitates the bending operation and prevents the spreadingof the cross-sectional width of the bar. Such spreading would interferewith the insertion of the end portion upwardly between the verticalwalls in the formation (it the lower portion of the S-spring, and alsoprevents the latter from being wedged between the said walls; whichwould inerfe'r'e with its spring action hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, which are intended to illustrate apractical embodiment of the principlesofthe invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the length of steel bar stock from whichthe improved rail anchor is formed. 7

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the bar after the die operation whichproduces the twin walls andthe narrow'slot.

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the anchor as it ispreliminarily mountedon the rail base before it is sprung'into final operative position bythe secondhammer blow. v

Fig. lshowsthe anchor fully engaging the rail, and

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken along the line" 55 in Fig. 4, showingthe anchor in operative position with one of the twin walls bearingagainst the side of the tie but maintained out of contact with the edgeof the tie plate.

Referring in detail to the drawings, id indicates thelengthoi the steelbar or" rectangular cross-sectional shape from which the anchor ismaterial is'spre'a'd'to form'a'pair of substantially said slotcommunicating at its inner end with the space l3.

In the fabrication of the anchor, the end portion it, the shorter endportion, is bent adjacent the ends of the twin walls, first to slantupwardly as at a and then horizontally outwardly to form a flat portioni'l', which when the anchor is in operative position on the rail, asshown in Fig. 4, mates in surface contact with the flat under face ofthe base flange of the rail. Furthermore the extremity of the bar isprovided with an upwardly extending jaw l8 having a fiat vertical innerface ES which, when the anchor is forced into its final operativeposition on the rail, snaps into engagement with the adjacent perimetraledge of the base flange of the rail 2|.

The other and longer end portion of the bar is bent to form an S-shapedspring 22, first downwardly as at 23, then inwardly and then upwardly inthe space 33 between the vertical walls [2 to a level substantiallyabove the said walls as at 24, then outwardly as at 25, then upwardly asat 23, then inwardly as at 2?, thus producing a continuous substantiallyS-shaped spring integral with the twin walls, the portions and 2'.forming a jaw with walls converging toward their connecting portion 28,said jaw adapted to receive and be wedged on the adjacent portion of thebase flange 20.

It will be noted that the portions 25 and 21, which engage the lower andupper surfaces of the rail flange, slightly diverge adjacent the con neting portion 25 as indicated at 26a, thus preventing the jaws of the jawfrom spreading out of tight wedging contact with the rail flange as thejaw is driven onto the latter and permitting the perimetral edge of therail to move into contact with the face of the connecting portion 26.

To add to the resilient action of the metal it is preferable that jaw I8be disposed at a slightly higher elevation than the C-jaw, as forinstance, a quarter inch.

When the anchor is to be mounted on the rail it is first positioned onthe latter as illustrated in Fig. 3, the jaw being driven on the railflange into tight clamping engagement with the rail by a smart blow of ahammer struck as indicated at Y in Fig. 3, the opposite jaw !8 bearingupwardly against the flat under surface of the base flange, thus puttingthe S-spring under strong tension. Then a second blow of the hammer isapplied to the lower portion of the S-spring as indicated at X in Fig.4, thereby springing the latter causing the body of the anchor to shiftto the left and jaw iii to move along the rail base and snap up intoengagement with the perimetral edge of the base flange, thus securingthe anchor in place against accidental dislodgment.

My improved anchor is so designed and constructed that it functionsentirely against the crosstie. In the case of many types of anchorspreviously employed the tendency is for the anchor to cut into the woodof the tie eventually contacting the tie plate, whereupon the motion ofthe passing traific and the consequent vibration soon causes the spikesto be loosened with the result that water seeps into the spike holesbelow the area of the wood which is impregnated by the creosotetreatment, causing the wood to rot and requiring replacement of thecostly tie.

My improved anchor is readily and inexpensively formed by a dieing andbending machine from a bar of suitable steel, preferably having alongitudinal groove rolled in its upper face. This method ofmanufacturing the anchor is economical and requires the minimum amountof steel, rendering the improved anchor relatively inexpensive.

In the manufacture of my improved rail anchor approximately two andthree-fourths pounds of steel are required, while approximately threeand three-fourths pounds are required for the anchor now in service, anddue to its structure and the extended bearing of the wall of the anchoragainst the tie fewer anchors per mile are required compared to thepresent practice. The saving in rail anchors is calculated to reachtwenty-five percent.

The bar Hi from which my anchor is fabricated is first heated toapproximately 2000 F. and then subjected to the dieing and bendingoperation, at the completion of which the temperature of the metal hasbeen reduced to approximately 1600 F. The bar is then dropped into anoil bath for approximately seventy seconds. It is then annealed at aheat of about 800 F. for about forty-five minutes. The metal used ispreferably a .60 or .70 carbon steel.

When my improved anchor is properly applied to the rail it cannot bedislodged from the latter except intentionally. The only method by whichit can be dislodged is the application of a blow from a heavy hammer onthe top surface of the jaw I9 to drive the latter downwardly out ofengagement with the base flange of the rail.

The anchor is mounted on the rail with one of its twin walls abuttingagainst the vertical side surface of a tie 28 as indicated in Fig. 5. Itwill be noted that the elevation of the two jaws above the walls 12results in the top of the wall being located considerably below thelevel of the tie plate 29 so that there can be no possible contactbetween the tie plate and the anchor, and there is no danger of the tieplate being moved relative to the tie or the spikes loosened.

I claim:

1. The method of manufacturing a rail anchor of the character describedwhich consists in fabricating a bar of resilient steel to form itsintermediate portion into substantially parallel spaced apart walls, thespace between said walls being slightly greater than the cross-sectionalwidth of the original bar, forming an upstanding jaw at the extremity ofone end portion of the bar, at a higher level than the walls, to engageone perimetral edge of the base flange of the rail, and bending theopposite end portion of the bar into the form of a substantially S-shapecurvilinear jaw extending upwardly between the parallel walls and abovethe same to overlie and grip the opposite perimetral portion of the baseflange of the rail.

2. The method of claim 1 characterized by the provision of alongitudinal slot in the material which forms the lower portion of theS-spring, which slot prevents the spreading of the material in bendingwhich otherwise would render that portion of the S-spring of too greatwidth to move freely between the parallel walls.

3. In a rail anchor, the combination including an intermediate portionconsisting of a pair of spaced apart substantially vertical walls, anarm fixedly connected to one end of said walls and inclined outwardlyand upwardly therefrom, an angular jaw carried by the free end of saidarm and. arranged to engage one of the longitudinal perimetral edges ofthe base flange of a rail, and a substantially S-shaped spring fixedlyconnected at its lower extremity to the opposite end of said walls andextending up between the walls and free of engagement with the latter,the upper loop of said S-spring being elevated above said walls andfacing inwardly over the latter to form a jaw to engage the oppositeedge portion of the base flange of the rail to finally seat the anchorin operative position.

4. In a rail anchor, the combination including an intermediate portionconsisting of a pair of spaced apart substantially vertical walls, anarm fixedly connected to one end of said walls and inclined outwardlyand upwardly therefrom, an angular jaw carried by the free end of saidarm and arranged to engage one of the longitudinal perimetral edges ofthe base flange of a rail, and a substantially S-shaped spring fixedlyconnected at its lower extremity to the opposite end of said Walls andextending up between the latter and free of engagement with the latter,the upper loop of said S-spring being elevated above said walls andfacing inwardly over the latter to form a jaw to engage the oppositeedge portion of the base flange of the rail, the first mentioned jaw,when the anchor is not installed on the rail being disposed at a higherelevation than the upper loop of said S-spring, thus when the anchor isapplied to the rail the angular jaw will engage the under side of therail flange, placing the S-spring under tension and a blow of a hammerexerted against the lower loop of the S-spring will cause the latter toexpand and permit the first mentioned jaw to spring into engagement withthe perimetral edge of the base flange of the rail which is adjacentthereto and finally seat the anchor in operative position.

5. In a rail anchor formed integrally of a bar of resilient steel whichcomprises an intermediate portion composed of a pair of substantiallyparallel and spaced apart walls and opposite end portions of less widththan the space between said walls, one of said end portions of thebarslanting outwardly and upwardly to a level above the top plane of thewalls, the extremity of 6 this portion of the bar being provided with anupwardly extending jaw having a face which engages the adjacentlongitudinal edge of the rail flange when the anchor is in operativeposition, and the opposite end portion of the bar being of less widththan the space between the Walls, is curvilinearly bent first downwardlyand then inwardly and then upwardly, between said walls and freetherefrom, to a level above the top plane of said walls and thenoutwardly, and then upwardly and then inwardly to complete asubstantially S-shaped spring, the top loop of which forms a second jawwhich receives and is clamped onto the opposite longitudinal edgeportion of the rail base.

6. In a rail anchor formed integrally of a bar of resilient stee1 whichcomprises an intermediate portion composed of a pair of substantiallyparallel and spaced apart walls and opposite end portions of less widththan the space between said walls, one of said end portions of the barslantin outwardly and upwardly to a level above the top plane of thewalls and provided at its extremity with a substantially horizontalportion arranged to fit under the surface of the rail flange when theanchor is in operative positlon and the extremity of this portion of thebar being provided with an upwardly extending jaw having a face whichengages the adjacent longitudinal edge of the rail flange when theanchor is in operative position, and the opposite end portion of thebar, being of less width than the space between the walls, iscurvilinearly bent first downwardly and then inwardly between saidparallel walls and then upwardly between the walls to a level above thetop plane of said walls and then outwardly, and then upwardly and theninwardly to complete a substantially S- shaped spring, the top loopforming a jaw which receives and is clamped onto the oppositelongitudinal edge portion of the rail base.

JACOB A. HYLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,647,376 Smith Nov. 1, 19271,708,477 Larmo-nth Apr. 9, 1929 2,268,327 Thomann Dec. 30, 19412,373,923 Thomann et a1. Apr. 17, 1945 2,473,345 Preston June 14, 1949

